Carla attends an early learning service. Her teacher notices that she has started playing by herself lately and becomes clingy when her mum drops her off.

Carla’s teacher talks to her mum about the potential reasons for this change in behaviour. Her mum looks upset but says ‘everything is ok now’ and tells the teacher that she has been seeing a maternal and child health nurse, who has helped with her anxiety.

Carla’s mum is reluctant about her teacher contacting the nurse but feels more comfortable when she finds out it is common for services to share information with each other.

The nurse shares information with Carla’s teacher using CISS, letting her know that there is a history of family violence and that the family was supported by a specialist service in the past.

When Carla’s teacher tells her mum about her conversation with the nurse, her mum says she is thinking of leaving her partner, as he is controlling and she is sometimes scared of him.

Carla’s teacher knows these are risk factors for family violence, so she uses FVISS to proactively share information with the specialist service.

Carla’s mum does not want her to contact the service but the teacher decides to anyway, because she is worried family violence may be occurring.

After talking to the service, Carla’s teacher encourages her mum to re-engage with the

specialist service so a comprehensive risk assessment can be undertaken. She also makes a warm referral to a cultural community centre as a protective factor for Carla and her mum.

A few weeks later, Carla’s mum tells her teacher that her partner has been abiding by an intervention order, Carla has started socialising more confidently and she has made friends at the cultural community centre.
  • The early learning service and maternal and child health service are both prescribed information sharing entities
  • Both services share information using CISS to promote Carla’s wellbeing.
  • Carla’s mum supports information-sharing but her consent is not required.
  • The specialist family violence service is also a prescribed information sharing entity.
  • Carla’s teacher proactively shares information with the specialist service using FVISS, despite the mum’s wishes.
  • Information-sharing results in the family’s re-engagement with the family violence service and in positive outcomes for Carla.
  •  All three services keep written records of the information shared.

For detailed information about this case study please download Case studies for early childhood education and care services on the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS)